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Saturday, 24 September 2011

Closet & girlie organisation for small spaces...

I live in a small 1 bedroom flat, when I got married I found it REALLY hard to share storage space with my husband. Gone were the days I had 3 wardrobes and all the space I wanted. Now, I have to share a room with baby as well.

Storage and organisation isn't about pretty, it's about functionality and keeping things neat and were they are supposed to be. Here's how I have made it work...

Behind the door I have a wardrobe, On the rail I store jackets, shirts, skirts and scarves. I like to organise by types of clothing and then by colour.

On the shelf I have some jackets folded, a box of all my hair extensions behind, my pyjamas on the right, behind that I have swimwear and socks. I have my vests folded in a box in the middle as I use them most often, I like storing them this way as I can see each colour clearly.My scarves/shawls are tied onto a 'trouser hanger'.

I have some shoes at the bottom, if you store a pair of shoes with one facing towards you and the other facing away you can fit much more in a row.

On top of the wardrobe I have baskets that house my bags...

I have a chest of drawers, but only the top shelf is mine as the bottom 2 have been dedicated to 'baby bubbles'.

In that drawers I have some of my tops folded into a basket so I can see everything, and some 'feminine' things on the right.

The top drawer has a secret drawer which stores my earrings and rings. I have used acrylic storage from Muji to keep them organised.

My lingerie used to be in the chest of drawers but now I keep them under the bed. I have 2 plastic boxes, one has 'bras' and the other has 'bottoms', behind that is a big box that houses all of my 'sets'.

I also keep this box under the bed which has all of my bracelets, bangles & cuffs.

I also have a built in 'closet', we took the door off to create more space...

Next to my bed I have a side table, "normal" people store books and lamps on this. I store suitcases, the top one holds all of my lotions & potions, the bottom one holds more beauty products and my brushes. Open the door and you will find nail polishes stored inside acrylic Muji drawers with hair products next to them. The shelf in between has a box full of my skincare. Who knew a tiny side table could hold so much?

I didn't have space for a dressing table so I made do with this, these baskets hold my makeup whilst looking clutter free, and I'm all about clutter free.

Oh and "Woopsie" I also have an overflow of makeup in this caddy that also lives under the bed.

Here's what's inside the built in closet... Mainly dresses, again organised by colour.

I have my belts hanging on a belt hanger...

I needed LOTS of space for my necklaces...

I have nails in the wall and I hung them all inside the closet behind my dresses.

On top I have jeans, trousers, leggings and some 'seasonal' things. My wedding dress is in the cream canvas bag on the left, and I have my bed linen on the right which are rolled up. My perfumes sit on the top shelf as I don't wear the items on the bottom that often.

On the bottom I have plenty more things...

I have shoes, I got this shelf from Costco and it works great!

I made use of the sides of the closet by hanging more jewellery, hats and hair tools. Under my hair dryer I have a box for my rollers and hair clips/accessories so it's at easy reach. Furthermore, I have my 'winter' scarves, hats & gloves in a basket.

....And that's how I store my "junk"!

I may change things up a little depending on the season but generally it stays this way. Organisation has to be practical and save you time by being able to find and put back what you need to.

Here are some of my tips:

First things first, I got rid of a lot of clothes over the past couple of years. You need to purge and I purged good and it's something I keep up. Get rid of anything you feel 'crap' in, anything that doesn't fit and anything you haven't worn in the past year, be ruthless!

Decide if you want to organise by 'type' or 'colour'.

Explore new ways of folding or rolling your clothes, you will be surprised how much space you save and how easy it is to find things.

Asses what works for you with your existing storage and keep it that way, decide on what would make life easier, for example if you have to wear black 5 days out of the week put those items at easy reach.

Look into baskets, boxes and shelves! It's amazing how much more stuff you can squish into them. I recommend checking out 'TK Maxx 'for pretty boxes if you want them to be on display.

Don't go crazy spending money on 'organisational' products, make use of what you have at home, like I said it's not about pretty it's about functionality and creating solutions for your storage.

47 comments:

I love seeing how people organize their stuff and you've accomplished quite the feat fitting all that into such a small space. I'm so impressed! I did a post on how I organize my giant collection of clothes into my small closet. I use rolling wheel racks from IKEA and lots of bins and hanging things.

Muhsine - this is an amazing post - you are so tidy and organized!!! All the pictures are so helpful - you've given me lots of inspiration...we've recently moved and I have my own walk-in closet, but I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to arrange everything neatly.

I really liked the idea about tying the scarves on the hanger...I'm definitely going to use this idea (among many others!!!)

Wow that all looks super organised. I too live in a one bedroom flat but it annoys me that even whilst being organised and tidy with my clothes, most of the stuff I take out to wear needs ironing again??!! Do u have this problem too Mushine? I hate ironing and prefer to iron my stuff when I wash it and then put it away. X jo x

I too have to have my living space clutter free, I can't think straight when all of my things are out of place. This post has definitely inspired me to get my wardrobe more organised and to make the most out of what space I have xoxo

You are the most lovely, amazing, beautiful and happy women I have come across in the blogging world. You have such a soothing an amazing tone in your posts and you treat everything with such an enthusiasm and positivity that it inspires me to be like you..:)Really you are awesome. stay like you are...All the best ..:)

Absolutely adore this post! Having a massive clear out/organise of my whole house this weekend so need all the help and inspiration I can get! You are the organisation queen!George | frecklie.blogspot.com

LOVE THIS POST! But I have noticed you do what I do.. take all the prime loactions and leave the man with nothing!! hahaha My ex from 4 years ago literally lived out of his suitcase for 2 years when we lived together because I look all the cupboard space! xx

You are so so clever and organised, I sm so ashamed of my messy house!! Wish you could come and redesign/organise it for me Muhsine. Love how you have done everything its functional and fabulous!!!! xxxx

This post is fab! Can't believe how much stuff you manage to store in one room! I would have never thought of the necklace idea... very good!You've made me want to revamp my room now and I've only just moved house! haha x

You are an organizational genius!! My fiance and I live in a small one bedroom flat, too...and it can be a challenge to keep myself from taking all the closet space, I must say. Thank you for the tips and inspiration to get our space organized and functional!

wow this is impressive. great organizational tips! I love how you have all of your jewelry stored/displayed and using baskets is genius. The under the bed bins are such a great idea! I'm totally stealing that!

Not to sound like a broken record here, but like everyone else has said...wow!! I cannot believe how organized that is! It wouldn't matter if I had a closet the size of a house, it would be super messy! lol

This is pretty impressive. I know exactly what you mean about space...I am the same with my other half in a 1 bed and we share the wardrobe. So glad we have managed to sell the flat and hopefully we can move out by xmas into a 2 bed!

looooovvee your organizational posts! So many good ideas. Makes me want to re-organize everything. And yes, doing a big "purge" of whatever makes you feel blah is a great idea. i know what im doing tomorrow now! :)

OMG, you are so organised you really do put me to shame!I wish I could be that good.I LOVE those white suitcases you have...such a gorgeous idea.I actually love the whole room...it's so bright and fresh! Beautiful! x

I love how you store items! I have the same chest of drawers as you and i store my nail polishes and pigments (and other random things) in the secret drawer but im buying those muji organisers now for sure! Thanks so much! x

wow this is impressive. i am also in a 1 bed flat with a baby (and another on the way...). I recommend getting thin white plastic hangers from ikea - you can fit much more in your wardrobe that way, even if they don't look as nice as the wooden ones. all the best with the baby. x

I loved this post!I mean you are superb at organising things!I have a whole room to myself ad I stil dont know how to plan!I dont have a blog so please let me know if I could follow you on facebook!And ofcourse congratulations!Very beautiful daughter!Touchwood!Love the name!